Australia Illustrated Book Review
Aussie Photographer Thomas Palfy Releases New Photojournal
Aug 21, 2009
Thomas Palfy lives an enviable life. The Hungarian born photographer, now living in Australia, constantly travels the fifth continent in search of new material for his series of photo journals. In his latest book, Australia Illustrated: The Eastern States, Palfy sets out from his home in Melbourne on a tour of myriad cities, architectural monuments and National Parks of the eastern side of the continent.
The Eastern States is a slight departure from one of Palfy's previous efforts, The West of the West. While West reads like a series of illustrated journal entries, The Eastern States feels more like flipping through a photo album with captions. This latest book functions much like Palfy's own travel guide. As he moves in and out of the kaleidoscopic Australian landscape, Palfy is able to capture much of the country's spectacular scenery with his lens.
Airey's Inlet and Lord Howe Island
At Aireys Inlet, he produces a breathtaking vista of an isolated lighthouse near the Great Ocean Road. The white beacon stands tall on a scraggy outcropping above a lonely beach as it overlooks a sapphire sea. Later in the book, as Palfy travels north along the eastern seaboard, he stops over in Lord Howe Island. Here, he snaps a shot of the ocean bathed in an entirely new light. Its corrugated surface, stained purple and pink, seems to absorb a sloping black tooth of land as the scintillating auroral sky above glows yellow.
The Gold Coast and Old Hobart Town
On the beach, a solitary silhouette sits alone, barely visible behind the tall grass, watching the bright blue waves come crashing onto the sand. South of Brisbane, The Gold Coast is famous for surfing. Palfy looks down from the 77th floor of the QDeck Building upon a panorama of massive buildings flanked on both sides by a meandering sea that seems to slither through the city, leaving thin rivulets and reflective pools that absorb the sunset.
Between the water's borders, the city bustles with neon nightlife and the tail lights of commuters, like tiny rubious eyes blinking upon the highway. The scene extends far along the coastline until it tapers off into the fuzzy orange sunset.
There are many other photographs within this book that illustrate the rugged and unspoiled beauty of Australia, as well as Thomas Palfy's talent in capturing ephemeral moments with his camera. Among the final images included in the book is a picture of Old Hobart Town, a model replica of the hamlet just north of Richmond. Palfy, larger than some of the buildings, stands in the background observing two miniature skiffs floating in a small pond.
Two gently sloping hills rise up behind him as he seems to ponder his reflection rippling before him. Perhaps he is thinking that the little Hobart replica is just as big as any of the other cities he has visited on his journey. Maybe he is thinking that each place he visits exists only for a short moment before it must become just another memory. It could be that this drives Palfy to travel around the Australian countryside, perpetually searching for another perfect moment to capture on film.
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